Granular material feeder

ABSTRACT

A granular material feeder for feeding a granular material into an at least partially breathable container includes: a storage receptacle configured to store the granular material; and a granular material discharger, and the granular material discharger has a granular material discharger portion configured to discharge the granular material in the storage receptacle into the container, and an air blower portion configured to blow air through a region surrounding the granular material discharger portion into the container during discharge of the granular material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-150524 filed on Jul. 4, 2012 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-116014 filed on May 31, 2013, the entire disclosure and contents of both of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to granular material feeders for feeding a granular material into a container, such as a bag.

2. Related Art

An air gun has been known as a means for feeding a granular material, such as powders, grains, or chips (fragments), into, e.g., a bag, and is configured to utilize compressed air to discharge a granular material by the ejector effect produced by the gas flow. However, when the air gun is used, the granular material is manually fed into a container, such as a bag, by an operator, and thus, the granular material tends to be unevenly distributed in the container.

In contrast, an apparatus for automatically feeding a granular material into a bag has been also known. Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. S61-54641 describes an apparatus configured to allow a measuring frame to hold a bag, feed a granular material and compressed air into the bag, and stop the feeding of the granular material when a value measured by the measuring frame reaches a set value. Japanese Patent Publication No. H02-296603 relates to an apparatus for charging, not a granular material, but liquid into a receptacle, and describes that a liquid filling nozzle is moved downward to the inside bottom of the receptacle, and while the nozzle is moved upward, liquid is injected into the receptacle, and that the speed at which the nozzle moves upward is varied depending on the shape of the receptacle.

When a granular material is fed into a bag by a machine, the granular material is deposited on an open end portion of the bag. To address this problem, Japanese Patent Publication No. H11-255212 describes that after a granular material has been charged into a bag, a nozzle at the lower end of an air feed pipe is positioned toward the mouth of the bag, and compressed air is blown through the nozzle to a sealing portion of the bag mouth to remove a deposit. Japanese Patent Publication No. H07-285518 describes that a nozzle is fitted to a tubular nozzle guide placed around the open end of a bag, and after fluid has been charged through the nozzle into the bag, compressed air is fed into the bag through the gap between the nozzle guide and the nozzle to blow a deposit on a front end of the nozzle away, thereby preventing contamination of an open end portion of the bag by the deposit.

Incidentally, when a granular material is charged into a container, such as a bag, by a granular material discharger, the granular material may be electrically charged by friction caused by the granular material passing through a granular material discharge path. The electrically charged granular material tends to be deposited on an outer circumferential surface of a discharge portion of the granular material discharger inserted into the container. When the granular material is deposited on the outer circumferential surface of the discharge portion, the granular material tends to fall off the discharge portion during the removal of the discharge portion from the container for a granular material, and be deposited on an open end portion of the container. Furthermore, the granular material deposited on the discharge portion falls outside the container to contaminate an area surrounding the container. Moreover, when the discharge portion is removed from the container with the granular material deposited on the discharge portion, this results in variations in the amount of the granular material fed. When the granular material is deposited on the open end portion of the container, blockage of the open end of the container causes the granular material to be caught in the open end. For example, when the entrance of the container is blocked by heat sealing, the granular material is welded to the open end of the container. This reduces the hermeticity of the container.

BRIEF SUMMARY

It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to provide a granular material feeder that can smoothly feed a granular material retained in a storage receptacle, such as a hopper, into a container, such as a bag. It is a particular object of the present disclosure to prevent a granular material from being deposited around a discharge portion of a granular material discharger.

In the present disclosure, air is discharged through a region surrounding a discharge portion of a granular material discharger into a container when a granular material is being discharged into the container by the granular material discharger.

Specifically, a granular material feeder disclosed herein is a granular material feeder for feeding a granular material into an at least partially breathable container. The granular material feeder includes: a storage receptacle configured to store the granular material; and a granular material discharger having a granular material discharger portion configured to discharge the granular material in the storage receptacle into the container, and an air blower portion configured to blow air through a region surrounding the granular material discharger portion into the container during discharge of the granular material.

Since, in the granular material feeder, air is blown through the region surrounding the granular material discharger portion into the container during discharge of the granular material, the granular material is less likely to be deposited on the outer circumferential surface of the granular material discharger portion. As a result, the granular material is prevented from being deposited on an open end portion of the container. A feature of the air blow is that unlike the conventional art, while air is not blown into, e.g., a bag after completion of the feeding of the granular material into the bag, air is blown thereinto during discharge of the granular material. This can more effectively prevent the granular material from being deposited on the outer circumferential surface of the granular material discharger portion and the open end portion of the container.

Here, air may start being blown after the start of the discharge of the granular material. However, air preferably starts being blown simultaneously with the start of the discharge of the granular material or before the start of the discharge of the granular material. Air can finish being blown before the end of the discharge of the granular material. However, air preferably finishes being blown simultaneously with the end of the discharge of the granular material or after the end of the discharge of the granular material.

Examples of the granular material include a granular material that is material of a structure, such as a building, a construction, an automobile, a ship, or an aircraft, and the granular material may be a granular product. The granular material may be an inorganic or organic natural product or an artifact. The granular material is directed to granular material (aggregate) made of powders, grains, or chips (fragments, small pieces, thin pieces) each having a density (absolute specific gravity) that is approximately greater than or equal to 0.01 g/cm³ and equal to or less than 1.5 g/cm³, preferably approximately greater than or equal to 0.03 g/cm³ and equal to or less than 0.99 g/cm³. In particular, the bulk density of the granular material (the apparent density of the granular material charged into a container in a free state (without being compressed)) is preferably approximately greater than or equal to 0.01 g/cm³ and equal to or less than 0.99 g/cm³, and is more preferably approximately greater than or equal to 0.03 g/cm³ and equal to or less than 0.5 g/cm³.

The powders, grains, or chips forming the granular material may be made of an elastic body, a resin, or a foam of an elastic body or a resin. For example, EPDM, NR, IR, CR, a thermoplastic elastomer, or plasticized polyvinyl chloride can be used as the elastic body. For example, PP, PE, nylon, PET, or rigid polyvinyl chloride can be used as the resin.

The shape of each of the powders or grains is not limited, and may be, e.g., a spherical shape or an irregular crushed shape. The shape of each of the chips is not specifically limited, and the shape of each of the thin pieces (flakes) may be, for example, a round shape, a shape deformed to have an uneven surface, or a shape having a surface on which burrs are formed.

The granular material may be an aggregate of either powders, grains, or chips, a mixed aggregate of powders, grains, or chips made of different materials, or a mixed aggregate of a plurality of types of granular materials selected from powders, grains, and chips.

When a product including the granular material contained in the container is used as a sound insulation material, such as a sound absorbing material or a sound blocking material, the flow resistivity of a granular material portion of the product is preferably greater than or equal to 1×10² Ns/m⁴ and equal to or less than 1×10⁴ Ns/m⁴, and is more preferably about the order of 10³ Ns/m⁴. The dynamic longitudinal elastic modulus of the granular material portion during repeated compression and compression release cycles at 100-1000 Hz is preferably greater than or equal to 1×10⁵ N/m² and equal to or less than 1×10⁷ N/m², and is more preferably greater than or equal to 4×10⁵ N/m² and equal to or less than 5×10⁶ N/m². The loss factor is preferably greater than or equal to 0.05 and equal to or less than 0.5, and is more preferably greater than or equal to 0.1 and equal to or less than 0.4.

The container may be a shape-retainable container or a bag that is not shape retainable while needing to be at least partially breathable. When the container is at least partially breathable, air in the container is squeezed out of a breathable part of the container upon the feeding of the granular material, and the granular material is smoothly fed. Examples of the container include a shape-retainable container or shape-unretainable bag-like container at least partially made of a breathable material, such as nonwoven fabric or a porous material, a bag-like container at least partially made of an unbreathable resin sheet having vent holes, or a shape-retainable container made of, e.g., an unbreathable resin material or metal material at least locally having vent holes.

Preferably, in the granular material feeder, the granular material discharger includes at least one discharge pipe having one or more granular material discharge openings and inserted into the container, and discharges the granular material through the one or more granular material discharge openings in the container, and the at least one discharge pipe is the granular material discharger portion. In other words, the number of the at least one discharge pipe inserted into the container may be one or more. For example, when a plurality of discharge pipes are inserted into a container having a large capacity to feed the granular material thereinto, this helps reduce the time during which the granular material is fed. For example, a hard pipe, such as an iron pipe or a rigid plastic pipe, a flexible pipe, such as a rubber pipe or a nonrigid plastic pipe, or a composite pipe made of a plurality of materials may be used as the discharge pipe. The material of the discharge pipe is not limited, and the discharge pipe may be a painted pipe or any other coated pipe.

The one or more granular material discharge openings can be opened in, e.g., a front end of the discharge pipe or a side surface of a front end portion thereof. In order to smoothly discharge the granular material, the one or more granular material discharge openings are preferably opened in the front end of the discharge pipe.

For example, an air nozzle having an air-blowing opening can be used as the air blower portion. Specifically, the at least one discharge pipe is passed through the air-blowing opening of the air nozzle, and in this situation, the air to be blown through the air nozzle is supplied into the container. The air is blown through the gap between the air nozzle and the discharge pipe, i.e., a region surrounding the at least one discharge pipe, into the container. Alternatively, a plurality of air nozzles can be provided to correspond to a plurality of discharge pipes, and the discharge pipes can be each passed through a corresponding one of the air-blowing openings of the air nozzles to feed the air through a region surrounding the discharge pipe into the container. The material of the air nozzle is not specifically limited, and may be made of iron, plastic, rubber, wood, or a composite. The air nozzle may be a painted air nozzle or any other coated air nozzle.

The granular material feeder preferably further includes: a driver configured to drive any one or both of the discharge pipe and the container such that while the granular material is discharged through the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe, the one or more granular material discharge openings move from an inside bottom of the container to an entrance of the container. Since the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe move from the inside bottom of the container to the entrance of the container, the granular material can be entirely charged also into the container including a partition or a narrow portion, or the container having portions with different interior sizes. This helps prevent the granular material from being unevenly distributed in the container.

In the granular material feeder, the granular material discharger preferably blows the air from the air nozzle through the region surrounding the at least one discharge pipe into the container during movement of the one or more granular material discharge openings of the at least one discharge pipe. This can prevent the granular material from being deposited on the outer circumferential surface of the discharge pipe or the open end portion of the container.

In the granular material feeder, a fitting portion of the air nozzle fitted into the entrance of the container is preferably tapered. This facilitates bringing the fitting portion of the air nozzle into close contact with the open end portion of the container. This close contact helps prevent the granular material from leaking out of the entrance, and can prevent the granular material from being deposited on the open end portion.

The granular material feeder preferably further includes: a discharge amount controller configured to change an amount of the granular material discharged by the granular material discharger. Thus, the amount of the granular material discharged can be changed depending on the locations at which the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe have arrived. For example, when the interior size of the container varies from a deepest portion of the container to the entrance thereof, the amount of the granular material discharged into a portion of the container having a larger interior size is increased, thereby finishing feeding the granular material into the container in a short time.

Either ionized air or normal air that is not ionized can be used as the air. In the granular material feeder, one of ionized air and normal air is preferably selected to blow the selected air through the air blower portion. In order to generate the ionized air, an ionizer may be connected to the air nozzle. Even when the electrically charged granular material is deposited on the outer circumferential surface of the granular material discharger portion or the open end portion of the container, the blow of the ionized air allows removal of static charge from the granular material (removal of static electricity), and the deposited granular material is detached from the granular material discharger portion or the open end portion of the container, and is blown into the container.

Static charge may be removed from the granular material by the ionized air after the granular material has finished being fed into the container, i.e., after the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe have moved from the inside bottom of the container to the granular material entrance of the container and before the container is detached from the air nozzle. This can reliably prevent the granular material from remaining deposited on the open end portion of the container. Of course, the ionized air may start being blown into the container before the granular material finishes being fed into the container.

The granular material feeder preferably further includes an agitator configured to stir the granular material in the storage receptacle, and the granular material stirred in the storage receptacle with the agitator is discharged into the container using the air. Since the agitator configured to stir the granular material is placed in the storage receptacle, this prevents the granular material from solidifying (clinging together) in the storage receptacle, and prevents also bridging of the granular material in the storage receptacle. Furthermore, since the granular material is discharged into the container using the air, the granular material is smoothly fed into the container. This allows the granular material to be smoothly fed from the storage receptacle into the container, thereby preventing variations in the amount of the granular material fed thereinto, i.e., the difference in the amount of the granular material between portions of the container. This helps evenly charge the granular material into the entire container.

As described above, according to the present disclosure, the air is blown through a region surrounding the granular material discharger portion into the container during the discharge of the granular material. This helps prevent the granular material from being deposited on the outer circumferential surface of the granular material discharger portion or the open end portion of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a side view of a granular material feeder.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a flat bag serving as a container and a granular material.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the granular material feeder.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the granular material feeder.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a retaining pin for a flat bag.

FIGS. 6A-6C are plan views illustrating how the granular material is fed into the flat bag step by step.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are plan views illustrating how the granular material is fed into the flat bag in another example step by step.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a flat bag.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an example of sound absorbing material obtained by the granular material feeder, where a part of the sound absorbing material is omitted.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a vehicle using sound absorbing material.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an inner fender and sound absorbing material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly known and understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention relates. The term “or” is used herein in both the alternative and conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

A granular material feeder illustrated in FIG. 1 is used to feed (charge) a granular material into a container. In this embodiment, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 2, elastomeric foam chips 1 corresponding to a granular material are fed into a flat bag (a less uneven and flat bag) 2 serving as an at least partially breathable container. The flat bag 2 includes a body portion 2A, a chip feeding portion 2B through which chips are fed, and a neck portion 2C, and the chip feeding portion 2B is connected through the neck portion 2C to the body portion 2A. A chip feeding opening 2D is formed in the chip feeding portion 2B. The neck portion 2C of the flat bag 2 into which the elastomeric foam chips 1 have been charged is sealed to prevent the elastomeric foam chips 1 from exiting, and the chip feeding portion 2B is separated from the body portion 2A by cutting. The resulting flat bag 2 is used as sound absorbing material or sound insulation material.

Configuration of Granular Material Feeder

The granular material feeder includes hoppers 3 each serving as a storage receptacle in which a granular material 1 is retained, and granular material dischargers 4 each configured to discharge the granular material 1 in a corresponding one of the hoppers 3 into the flat bag 2. Furthermore, the granular material feeder includes agitators 5 each configured to agitate the granular material 1 in a corresponding one of the hoppers 3, a controller 10, and other components. The granular material dischargers 4 each include an air nozzle 6 forming an air blower portion for preventing the granular material 1 from being deposited on, e.g., an open end portion of the flat bag 2.

Components of each of the granular material dischargers 4 except the air nozzle 6 are supported by a slider 8 engaged with a guide rail 7 together with the corresponding hopper 3 and the corresponding agitator 5, and the granular material discharger 4 moves forward or backward on the guide rail 7 by operation of a driver 9. A stage 11 on which the flat bag 2 is placed is located in front of the granular material dischargers 4. The flat bag 2 is placed on the stage 11 such that its open end (granular material feeding opening) is faced toward the granular material dischargers 4.

The granular material dischargers 4 each include, in addition to the air nozzle 6, a discharge pipe 12 forming a granular material discharger portion having its front end including a granular material discharge opening, an ejector gun 13 configured to feed the granular material 1 in the corresponding hopper 3 into the discharge pipe 12 by compressed air, and a pipe fitting 14 providing connection between the discharge pipe 12 and the ejector gun 13. The pipe fitting 14 is supported by a bracket 15 fixed to the slider 8. A hose 16 extending from the lower end of the corresponding hopper 3 is connected to the ejector gun 13. Compressed air is supplied from an air source 17, such as a compressor or an accumulator, through a solenoid valve 18 and a first line 19 to the ejector gun 13. The solenoid valve 18 is used to supply and exclude the compressed air from the air source 17, and change the direction in which the compressed air is supplied.

The hoppers 3 are each supported by a pillar 20 standing on the slider 8. The agitators 5 each includes a paddle 22 provided at the lower end of a rotary shaft 21, and an electric motor 23 configured to rotationally drive the rotary shaft 21. The paddle 22 rotationally moves along the inner circumferential surface of a conical lower portion of the corresponding hopper 3. The electric motor 23 is supported by a bracket 24 projecting from the pillar 20.

Although described below in detail, the air nozzle 6 is used to blow air for preventing a deposit into the flat bag 2 along the outer circumferential surface of the discharge pipe 12 of a corresponding one of the granular material dischargers 4, and is supported by a support plate 25 standing on a front end portion of the guide rail 7. One of compressed air and ionized air is selected, and the selected air is supplied into the air nozzle 6.

Therefore, second and third lines 27 and 28 extend from the solenoid valve 18. The second line 27 is used to supply compressed air from the air source 17 into the air nozzle 6, and the third line 28 is used to supply ionized air into the air nozzle 6. The second line 27 includes a check valve 29. The third line 28 includes an ionizer 30 configured to receive the compressed air from the air source 17 to generate ionized air. Here, the solenoid valve 18 can select one of a state where the supply of compressed air from the air source 17 is blocked, a state where compressed air is supplied into the first and second lines 19 and 27, and a state where compressed air is supplied into the third line 28.

The driver 9 is formed by utilizing a single-axis actuator (a ball screw). Specifically, the driver 9 includes a screw shaft 33 parallel to the guide rail 7, and an electric motor 34 configured to rotationally drive the screw shaft 33, and the slider 8 is coupled to a nut engaging with the screw shaft 33.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the granular material feeder of this embodiment includes two granular material dischargers 4 arranged in parallel, different hoppers 3 are connected to the granular material dischargers 4, and the hoppers 3 each include the agitator 5. The agitator 5 is not shown in FIG. 3.

A specific structure of each of the granular material discharger 4 and the air nozzle 6 will be described based on FIG. 4.

The ejector gun 13 of the granular material discharger 4 includes an air introduction portion 13 a having an introduction opening 40 through which compressed air from the air source 17 is introduced, and a suction portion 13 b and an ejector portion 13 c located backward and forward of the air introduction portion 13 a. The hose 16 extending from the hopper 3 is connected to the suction portion 13 b of the ejector gun 13. One end portion of the pipe fitting 14 is fitted onto the ejector portion 13 c of the ejector gun 13, and a base end portion 12 a of the discharge pipe 12 is fitted into an end portion of the pipe fitting 14 opposite to the one end portion thereof.

Here, a plurality of discharge pipes 12 having different lengths are prepared, and when the granular material 1 is fed into the flat bag 2, one of the discharge pipes 12 having a length corresponding to the depth of the flat bag 2 is selected and fitted into the pipe fitting 14.

Compressed air is introduced into the air introduction portion 13 a of the ejector gun 13 so as to be directed toward the ejector portion 13 c thereof, thereby generating a negative pressure in the suction portion 13 b. Thus, the granular material 1 in the hopper 3 is sucked through the ejector portion 13 c into the discharge pipe 12. For example, a Wonder-Gun (trade name) made by Osawa Co., Ltd. can be utilized as the ejector gun 13. Of course, the ejector gun 13 is not limited to the Wonder-Gun, and another ejector gun having a similar function can be used as the ejector gun 13.

The air nozzle 6 includes an air flow amplifier 41, a nozzle adapter 42, and a holder 43 through which the air flow amplifier 41 and the nozzle adapter 42 are coupled together, and has a through hole 44 through which the discharge pipe 12 of the granular material discharger 4 is passed. The air flow amplifier 41 includes an outside air introduction portion 41 a having a tapered cross-sectional shape, an air outflow portion 41 b that is continuous with the outside air introduction portion 41 a and has a reverse-tapered cross-sectional shape, and a compressed air inlet 45 through which compressed air from the air source 17 flows into the air nozzle 6. The compressed air inlet 45 is formed in a base end portion of the air outflow portion 41 b. In the air flow amplifier 41, compressed air is blown forward of the air outflow portion 41 b through the compressed air inlet 45, thereby introducing outside air through the outside air introduction portion 41 a into the nozzle adapter 42 to increase the volume of air flowing through the nozzle adapter 42. Although, for example, a Transvector (trade name) made by KOGI CORPORATION can be utilized as the air flow amplifier 41, the air flow amplifier 41 is not limited to the Transvector.

The nozzle adapter 42 is fitted into the flat bag 2 by being inserted into the entrance of the flat bag 2, and is formed of a tapered pipe so as to be easily in close contact with the open end of the flat bag 2. Here, a plurality of nozzle adapters 42 that are tapered at different slopes are prepared, one of the nozzle adapters 42 that is tapered at a slope corresponding to the size of the entrance of the flat bag 2 is selected, and the selected nozzle adapter 42 is connected to the air flow amplifier 41. However, all of the nozzle adapters 42 need to each have a front end having an inside diameter that is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the discharge pipe 12 of the granular material discharger 4. Thus, when the discharge pipe 12 is inserted through the air nozzle 6, an annular air outlet 46 is formed between the outer circumferential surface of the discharge pipe 12 and a front end portion of the nozzle adapter 42.

In contrast, the holder 43 is cylindrical, and is fitted onto the air outflow portion 41 b of the air flow amplifier 41. A base end portion of the nozzle adapter 42 is fitted onto a front end portion of the air outflow portion 41 b of the air flow amplifier 41, and the nozzle adapter 42 is held on the air outflow portion 41 b by the holder 43.

Holding of Flat Bag 2

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a pin 47 holding the flat bag 2 stands on a front end portion of the stage 11. Specifically, the flat bag 2 includes an ear portion 48 beside the entrance of the flat bag 2, and a pin hole 49 into which the retaining pin 47 is to be fitted is formed in the ear portion 48. The open end portion of the flat bag 2 is held on the stage 11 by fitting the retaining pin 47 into the pin hole 49.

Control of Feeding of Granular Material into Flat Bag

The controller 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 controls operations of the agitators 5 (electric motors 23), the driver 9 (electric motor 34), the solenoid valve 18, and the ionizer 30 to feed the granular material 1 into the flat bag 2. The controller 10 receives a signal from a first switch 51 to actuate the agitators 5, controls the driver 9 and the solenoid valve 18 in order to feed the granular material 1 into the flat bag 2, and receives a signal from a second switch 52 to control the solenoid valve 18 and the ionizer 30. A manual switch 53 is connected to the controller 10 to stop the supply of compressed air from the air source 17 and jog the driver 9. The feeding of the granular material 1 into the flat bag 2 will be specifically described hereinafter.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, in the granular material feeder, a state where the granular material dischargers 4 are each positioned at its full-forward position corresponds to a standby state for feeding the granular material 1 into the flat bag 2. In this standby state, the discharge pipe 12 of each of the granular material dischargers 4 is located over the stage 11 for the flat bag 2. The flat bag 2 is fitted to the discharge pipe 12, and as illustrated also in FIG. 6A, the discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 is located deep in the flat bag 2. The open end of the flat bag 2 is fitted to the nozzle adapter 42 of the air nozzle 6. The retaining pin 47 on the stage 11 is fitted into the pin hole 49 of the flat bag 2. The flat bag 2 in this example has partitions 2 a and 2 b extending inward from lateral sides of a middle portion of the flat bag 2 in a depth direction of the flat bag 2. FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate an example in which only one of the two granular material dischargers 4 is used.

The controller 10 receives a signal from the first switch 51 to actuate the agitator 5, switches the solenoid valve 18 to supply compressed air into both of the first and second lines 19 and 27 after a predetermined time from the actuation, and then actuates the driver 9. Operation of the agitator 5 allows the granular material 1 in the hopper 3 to be stirred with the paddle 22.

With the switching of the solenoid valve 18, compressed air is supplied into the ejector gun 13 of the granular material discharger 4 and the air nozzle 6 as illustrated by the arrows in FIG. 6A. Thus, the granular material 1 stirred with the paddle 22 in the hopper 3 is sucked by the ejector gun 13, and the sucked granular material 1 is discharged through the front end discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 at the front end thereof to the inside bottom of the flat bag 2. Simultaneously, air amplified by the air flow amplifier 41 of the air nozzle 6 is blown through the nozzle adapter 42 into the flat bag 2. The driver 9 moves the discharge pipe 12 for the granular material 1 backward.

The discharge pipe 12 may start moving backward simultaneously with the start of discharge of the granular material 1. Alternatively, the discharge pipe 12 may start moving backward after a predetermined amount of the granular material 1 has been fed into the flat bag 2. Air may start being blown through the air nozzle 6 into the flat bag 2 simultaneously with the start of the backward movement of the discharge pipe 12. Alternatively, air may start being blown after the start of the backward movement of the discharge pipe 12.

FIG. 6B illustrates a state where the granular material discharger 4 is moving backward. The discharge pipe 12 has moved backward until its front end reaches approximately the middle of the flat bag 2. Here, assume that while the discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 is positioned in the vicinity of the entrance of the flat bag 2, the granular material 1 is discharged into the flat bag 2. In this case, although the granular material 1 moves to the inside bottom of the flat bag 2, the partitions 2 a and 2 b prevent the feeding of the granular material 1. Therefore, the amount of the granular material 1 charged to the back of each of the partitions 2 a and 2 b as viewed from the entrance is not large enough.

In contrast, the granular material feeder initially positions the front end discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 toward the inside bottom of the flat bag 2, and shifts the location of the front end discharge opening backward while the granular material is being discharged. That is, the granular material 1 is charged in the order from the inside bottom of the flat bag 2 to the entrance thereof. Therefore, even with the partitions 2 a and 2 b in the bag, the granular material 1 is entirely uniformly charged into the flat bag 2 as illustrated in FIG. 6C.

When the granular material 1 is discharged through the discharge pipe 12 into the flat bag 2, individual pieces of the granular material 1 tend to be triboelectrically charged. Since the granular material 1 is blown into the flat bag 2 together with air, some of the pieces of the granular material 1 are suspended in the flat bag 2, and attempts to leak out through the entrance of the flat bag 2. However, when the discharge pipe 12 moves backward while discharging the granular material 1, air is simultaneously blown through the air nozzle 6 into the flat bag 2 along the outer circumferential surface of the discharge pipe 12. The blowing of the air prevents the electrically charged granular material 1 suspended in the flat bag 2 from being deposited on the discharge pipe 12 in the vicinity of the entrance, and further prevents the granular material 1 from leaking out through the entrance of the flat bag 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 6C, when the discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 has moved backward and has reached the front end of the nozzle adapter 42, the controller 10 stops operation of the driver 9, switches the solenoid valve 18, and actuates the ionizer 30. Stopping the operation of the driver 9 allows the backward movement of the discharge pipe 12 to stop. Changing the position of the solenoid valve 18 allows the supply of compressed air into the first and second lines 19 and 27 to stop, and allows compressed air to be supplied into the third line 28. Thus, while the ejector gun 13 stops discharging the granular material 1, ionized air is blown through the air nozzle 6 into the flat bag 2 along the outer circumferential surface of the discharge pipe 12 instead of compressed air.

Therefore, even when the granular material 1 is electrically charged, and is deposited on the discharge pipe 12, static charge is removed from the granular material 1 by the ionized air, and the granular material 1 from which static charge has been removed is detached from the discharge pipe 12, and is blown into the flat bag 2 together with the ionized air. Furthermore, even when the granular material 1 is electrically charged, and is deposited on the open end portion of the flat bag 2, static charge is removed from the granular material 1 by the ionized air, and the granular material 1 from which static charge has been removed is detached from the open end portion, and is blown into the flat bag 2.

The controller 10 stops operation of the ionizer 30 after a predetermined time from the start of the blowing of the ionized air, and switches the solenoid valve 18 to block the supply of compressed air from the air source 17.

After the feeding of the granular material 1 into the flat bag 2 and the supply of the ionized air for removing static charge have been completed in the above-described manner, the flat bag 2 is detached from the nozzle adapter 42, and the entrance of the flat bag 2 is sealed by, e.g., heat sealing. In this case, since, as previously described, the supply of the ionized air allows removal of the granular material 1 from the open end portion of the flat bag 2, the entrance is sealed without any problem. In other words, the entrance of the flat bag 2 can be easily blocked to prevent the granular material 1 from leaking out of the flat bag 2.

Since the hopper 3 and the granular material discharger 4 are supported by the same slider 8, their relative positions are not changed during the feeding of the granular material 1 into the flat bag 2. Specifically, even when the hopper 3 and the granular material discharger 4 are connected together through the bendable hose 16, the shape of a passage through which the granular material 1 travels from the lower end of the hopper 3 to the front end discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 does not change from the start of the feeding of the granular material 1 to the end thereof. Therefore, the passage resistance to the flow of the granular material 1 does not also change, and thus, the amount of the granular material 1 fed into the flat bag 2 per unit time does not vary. Thus, the time during which the granular material 1 is fed is controlled to allow the total amount of the granular material 1 fed into the flat bag 2 to be a desired amount, and the speed at which the discharge pipe 12 moves backward is changed so as to be able to adjust the amount of the granular material 1 charged into each of portions of the flat bag 2.

Unlike the previous example in FIGS. 6A-6C, FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a method for feeding granular material in a situation where the flat bag 2 includes a large partition 2 c extending inward from a lateral side of the bag.

In this situation, since the partition 2 c serves as a barrier, the discharge pipe 12 of the granular material discharger 4 cannot be passed straight from the entrance of the bag to the inside bottom thereof. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the flat bag 2 is slightly inclined laterally outward from its open end portion fitted to the nozzle adapter 42, thereby allowing the front end discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 to reach the inside bottom of the flat bag 2. In this situation, the granular material 1 starts being discharged, and while the discharge pipe 12 is moved backward, the granular material 1 is fed to the inside bottom of the flat bag 2.

When the granular material 1 has finished being charged into a portion of the flat bag 2 behind the partition 2 c, the discharge of the granular material 1 is temporarily stopped by the manual switch 53, and furthermore, the small movement of the driver 9 moves the discharge pipe 12 backward such that the discharge opening is located in front of the partition 2 c. The controller 10 can detect that the granular material 1 has finished being charged into the portion of the flat bag 2 behind the partition 2 c, based on the time elapsed since the start of the discharge.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, the flat bag 2 is slightly inclined in the direction opposite to the direction in which the flat bag 2 is inclined in FIG. 7A, thereby directing the front end discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 to the vicinity of the root of the partition 2 c. In this situation, discharge of the granular material 1 is restarted, and while the discharge pipe 12 is moved backward, the granular material 1 is fed into a portion of the flat bag 2 in front of the partition 2 c. In this case, since the front end discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 is directed to the vicinity of the root of the partition 2 c, this prevents the granular material 1 discharged through the discharge pipe 12 from being squeezed into the portion of the flat bag 2 behind the partition 2 c. In other words, an excessively large amount of the granular material 1 is prevented from being charged into the portion of the flat bag 2 behind the partition 2 c.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a flat bag 2 having portions with different interior sizes. In other words, a back portion 2 e of the flat bag 2 toward the inside bottom thereof has a larger interior size than a front portion 2 d of the flat bag 2 toward the entrance thereof. In this case, when the granular material 1 is discharged while the discharge pipe 12 of the granular material discharger 4 is moved backward in the back portion 2 e of the flat bag 2 having a larger capacity, the amount of the granular material 1 discharged is set at a large value, and when the discharge pipe 12 is moved backward, and the discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12 has reached the front portion 2 d having a smaller capacity, the amount of the granular material 1 discharged is set at a small value. This can reduce the time required to feed the granular material 1 into the flat bag 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the amount of the granular material 1 discharged can be changed, for example, by allowing the first line 19 to include a pressure control valve 50 and changing the pressure at which compressed air is supplied to the ejector gun 13. The change in the pressure at which compressed air is supplied to the ejector gun 13 changes the amount of the granular material 1 discharged by the granular material discharger 4.

While the discharge pipe 12 is successively moved backward, the speed of the backward movement of the discharge pipe 12 and/or the amount of the granular material 1 discharged can be also changed. However, as clear from the examples in FIGS. 6A-7B, when the discharge opening has reached the location at which the internal shape of the flat bag 2 is varied, the discharge of the granular material 1 and the backward movement of the discharge pipe 12 may be temporarily stopped, the speed of the backward movement of the discharge pipe 12 and/or the amount of the granular material 1 discharged may be changed, and then, the backward movement of the discharge pipe 12 may be restarted.

Instead of a single-axis actuator, an actuator using another drive system, such as a chain-drive actuator or a belt drive actuator, can be used as the driver 9.

In the embodiment, the discharge pipe 12 is moved by the driver 9; however, the flat bag 2 may be driven to move, and thus, while the granular material 1 is discharged through the granular material discharge opening of the discharge pipe 12, the granular material discharge opening may relatively move from the inside bottom of the flat bag 2 to the entrance thereof.

Sound Absorbing Material

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a sound absorbing material (sound insulation material) 60 obtained by the granular material feeder. The sound absorbing material 60 is obtained by charging the elastomeric foam chips 1 into the flat bag 2, and the elastomeric foam chips 1 are not bonded together, and can move. The elastomeric foam chips 1 are not bonded also to the flat bag 2.

The elastomeric foam chips 1 can be obtained by pulverizing scraps of a sound insulating sheet made of, e.g., an EPDM rubber foam (sponge material) into chips. The average particle size of the elastomeric foam chips 1 is about 0.5-5 mm, and the range of the particle sizes of the elastomeric foam chips 1 is preferably, e.g., about 0.1-10 mm. The foaming density (absolute specific gravity) of each of the elastomeric foam chips 1 is approximately greater than or equal to 0.01 g/cm³ and equal to or less than 0.99 g/cm³, and is preferably approximately greater than or equal to 0.03 g/cm³ and equal to or less than 0.5 g/cm³.

A mixture including the elastomeric foam chips 1 as the main ingredient (having, e.g., a capacity that is 80% or more of the total capacity of the mixture) can be fed into the flat bag 2. The mixture includes, in addition to the elastomeric foam chips 1, other sound absorbing materials, such as fiber material, non-elastomeric foam chips, resin chips, and powder of inorganic material (e.g., silica or mica), and a filler.

The granular material is not limited to the elastomeric foam chips 1, and chips of styrofoam, unfoamed rubber chips, resin chips (e.g., thin pieces (such as flakes or pieces deformed to have an uneven surface)), or woody biomass chips, for example, can be used as the granular material. Alternatively, the other types of powder or particulate matter can be used as the granular material.

The granular material relates to granular material (including elastomeric foam chips) charged into the flat bag 2, preferably has a bulk density that is approximately greater than or equal to 0.01 g/cm³ and equal to or less than 0.99 g/cm³, and more preferably has a bulk density that is approximately greater than or equal to 0.03 g/cm³ and equal to or less than 0.5 g/cm³.

The flat bag 2 can be obtained by overlapping, e.g., two breathable sheet materials made of, e.g., nonwoven fabric, or folding one breathable sheet material, and joining overlapping outer portions of the breathable sheet material or materials. The overlapping outer portions merely needs to be joined together to the extent that the contents of the flat bag 2, such as elastomeric foam chips, do not leak out of the flat bag 2, and in order to join them together, any appropriate process, such as adhesive joining or stitching, can be used instead of heat sealing.

One of the surfaces of the flat bag 2 may be made of a breathable sheet of, e.g., nonwoven fabric, and the other surface thereof opposite to the surface may be made of a non-breathable sheet, such as a polyethylene sheet. Thus, the non-breathable sheet can reduce noise, and the sound insulation performance of the sound absorbing material can be enhanced.

The interior of a flat bag made of a breathable sheet of, e.g., nonwoven fabric may be partitioned into a plurality of housing parts in the thickness direction of the flat bag by barriers, and an identical granular material or different granular materials may be charged into the housing parts. The barriers can be each made of a breathable sheet or a non-breathable sheet. Even with the barriers made of a non-breathable sheet, as long as the breathability of at least one surface of each of the housing parts is ensured, granular material is smoothly charged into the housing parts by the feeder according to the present disclosure without any problem.

The area density of the entire sound absorbing material may be, e.g., approximately greater than or equal to 1 kg/m² and equal to or less than 4 kg/m².

A bag into which elastomeric foam chips 1 are fed does not always need to be flat, and may have any cross-sectional shape, such as a circular cross-sectional shape or a rectangular cross-sectional shape.

FIG. 10 illustrates an automobile 61 as an example in which the sound absorbing material 60 is used. In this figure, the reference character 62 denotes a front fender, and an inner fender 65 illustrated in FIG. 11 is provided, as a lining, inside a tire house 63 of the inner fender 65 (toward a corresponding one of tires 64). The inner fender 65 prevents flaws and rust in/on the inner surface of the front fender 62, and noise all arising from, e.g., small stones bounced off by the tire 64, or water splashed by the tire 64. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the sound absorbing material 60 is placed on the upper surface of the inner fender 65 (opposite to the tire 64) to block road noise and other noises. The sound absorbing material 60 has weep holes 67. The sound absorbing material 60 can be placed also on another portion of a vehicle body, such as an inner fender 68 placed on a rear fender, a dash panel 69, the upper surfaces of under-floor covers 70 a-70 c, side doors 71, or a roof 72 to allow the interior of the automobile to be quiet. The weep holes 67 may be attachment holes used to attach the sound absorbing material 60 to the inner fender 65. A peripheral portion of the sound absorbing material 60 forms a junction, and the junction can be fixed to the inner fender 65 by bonding part of the junction or the entire junction to the inner fender 65 (fusion using an adhesive or the material of the junction) or with a fastener, such as a stapler or a bolt.

The sound absorbing material 60 can be utilized to prevent noise in, not only automobiles, but also other vehicles, such as trains or airplanes, or constructions, such as buildings.

It will be appreciated that many variations of the above systems and methods are possible, and that deviation from the above embodiments are possible, but yet within the scope of the claims. Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. 

That which is claimed:
 1. A granular material feeder for feeding a granular material into an at least partially breathable container, the granular material feeder comprising: a storage receptacle configured to store the granular material; and a granular material discharger, said granular material discharger comprising: a granular material discharger portion configured to discharge the granular material in the storage receptacle into the container; and an air blower portion configured to blow air through a region surrounding the granular material discharger portion into the container during discharge of the granular material.
 2. The granular material feeder of claim 1, wherein: the granular material discharger includes at least one discharge pipe having one or more granular material discharge openings and inserted into the container, and discharges the granular material through the one or more granular material discharge openings in the container; and the at least one discharge pipe is the granular material discharger portion.
 3. The granular material feeder of claim 2, wherein the one or more granular material discharge openings are opened in a front end of the discharge pipe.
 4. The granular material feeder of claim 2, wherein: the granular material discharger includes at least one air nozzle having an air-blowing opening and being an air blower portion, and blows the air through a region surrounding the at least one discharge pipe into the container with the at least one discharge pipe being passed through the air-blowing opening of the at least one air nozzle.
 5. The granular material feeder of claim 3, wherein: the granular material discharger includes at least one air nozzle having an air-blowing opening and being the air blower portion, and blows the air through a region surrounding the at least one discharge pipe into the container with the at least one discharge pipe being passed through the air-blowing opening of the at least one air nozzle.
 6. The granular material feeder of claim 4, wherein: the granular material discharger includes the at least one discharge pipe including a plurality of discharge pipes, and the at least one air nozzle including a plurality of air nozzles that correspond to the discharge pipes and each have the air-blowing opening, and blows the air through regions surrounding the discharge pipes into the container with the discharge pipes being each passed through the air-blowing opening of a corresponding one of the air nozzles.
 7. The granular material feeder of claim 5, wherein: the granular material discharger includes the at least one discharge pipe including a plurality of discharge pipes, and the at least one air nozzle including a plurality of air nozzles that correspond to the discharge pipes and each have the air-blowing opening, and blows the air through regions surrounding the discharge pipes into the container with the discharge pipes being each passed through the air-blowing opening of a corresponding one of the air nozzles.
 8. The granular material feeder of claim 3 further comprising: a driver configured to drive any one or both of the discharge pipe and the container such that while the granular material is discharged through the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe, the one or more granular material discharge openings move from an inside bottom of the container to an entrance of the container.
 9. The granular material feeder of claim 5 further comprising: a driver configured to drive any one or both of the discharge pipe and the container such that while the granular material is discharged through the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe, the one or more granular material discharge openings move from an inside bottom of the container to an entrance of the container.
 10. The granular material feeder of claim 7 further comprising: a driver configured to drive any one or both of the discharge pipe and the container such that while the granular material is discharged through the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe, the one or more granular material discharge openings move from an inside bottom of the container to an entrance of the container.
 11. The granular material feeder of claim 8, wherein: the granular material discharger blows the air from the air nozzle through a region surrounding the at least one discharge pipe into the container during movement of the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe.
 12. The granular material feeder of claim 9, wherein: the granular material discharger blows the air from the air nozzle through a region surrounding the at least one discharge pipe into the container during movement of the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe.
 13. The granular material feeder of claim 10, wherein: the granular material discharger blows the air from the air nozzle through a region surrounding the at least one discharge pipe into the container during movement of the one or more granular material discharge openings of the discharge pipe.
 14. The granular material feeder of claim 4, wherein the at least one air nozzle includes a tapered fitting portion fitted into an entrance of the container.
 15. The granular material feeder of claim 5, wherein the at least one air nozzle includes a tapered fitting portion fitted into an entrance of the container.
 16. The granular material feeder of claim 1 further comprising: a discharge amount controller configured to change an amount of the granular material discharged by the granular material discharger.
 17. The granular material feeder of claim 1, wherein the granular material discharger selects one of ionized air and normal air that is not ionized as the air, and blows the selected air through the air blower portion. 